Deep well pumps



March 6, 1962 H. D. LowRY DEEP WELL PUMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.4, 1959 w Y R mw a V0 n m/M H Dm wm M ,fm

March 6, 1962 H. D. LOWRY 3,023,707

DEEP WELL PUMPS Filed Sept. 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ilja, 2a.

INVENTOR. EeM/:w DALE LOM/@y rraPA/Eys.

United States Patent O N' 3,023,707 DEEP WELL PUMPS Herman Dale Lowry,Los Angeles, Calif., assigner to Lowry Hydraulic Co., Santa Monica,Calif., a corporation of Nevada Filed Sept. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 838,366 4Claims. (Cl. 103-46) My invention relates generally to hydraulic pumpsand an inter connecting system for pumping oil and/ or water from wells,sumps or reservoirs.

While many pumps and pumping systems have been invented and been in usefor years, all of these pumps and systems have expensive and complexmaintenance problems.

Most of the pumps and pumping systems in use today are examples ofdesign comprises that are really secondary solutions, which, while doingthe work required, they are of course, not the primary solution in thefield of cost andmaintenance for hydraulic pumping systems.

A brief summary of a few of the systems now in use, while pointing outtheir deficiencies, will tend to bring into focus the desirability ofthe many features of my.

pumping system.

The standard tubing type, down well pump is operated with heavy andcumbersome machinery above ground and the plunger is actuated by a longstring of sucker rods. These sucker rods wear out and break. Afterbreaking, the rods must be fished out of the well and laboriouslydisconnected section by section and replaced in the same way.

'I'he weight of a string of sucker rods in a 5,000 foot well equalsabout ve tons. If the well operates at twelve strokes per minute, thewell is lifting 3,600 tons of nonproductive weight each hour ofoperation, My pump and pumping system eliminates the sucker rod.

Bearing in mind the above dilculties encountered in most down well pumpsof the class described, it is a major object of my invention to providea pump and pumping system which will t various sizes of productiontubing, will be easily and quickly removed for maintenance, willeliminate sucker rods and since the equipment above ground consists ofan electric motor, gear pump, various valves and a hydraulic fluid tank,much saving in space is attained, unsightly machinery is eliminated anda much more quiet and efcient operation is assured.

Furthermore, my system allows for the removal of the down well pumpwithout pulling the production tubing or disconnecting the cable thatholds the pump or pumps suspended in the well, or disconnecting theflexible tubing that transmits the pressurized iluid power to the downWell pump.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pumping system that hasno high speed impellers that fail under the wear of sand laden oil orwater.

Still another object of my invention is to eliminate need for electricalcircuits under ground.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of my invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the pump andsystem, the description being considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a sectional view of a well casing having the pump of thepresent invention mounted within the production tube in the casing.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 2a together constitute a vertical sectional view on auenlarged scale of the pump mounted within the production tube, the viewsbeing respectively the upper and lower portions of the device.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line lll-IH of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line IV--IV of FIG. 2.

Y cap indicated generally at 25, the aperture 27 of the cap affordingfluid communication between the interior of the casing and the interiorof the production tube. Within cap 25 is a lower check valve housingindicated generally at 2 and provided with a circular seat 30 forsupporting a ball 32, the ball being in sealing Contact with the seat 30when in its lower position as shown, and being movable upwardly withinthe housing 2 by Huid ilow upwardly through aperture 27 and past theseat 30.

Within production tube 15 and above the valve housing 2v is the cylinderof the present invention indicated generally at 5 and provided at itslower end with a cylinder head 3 closing the lower end of the cylinderand in contact with and being supportedV by the upper portion of thevalve housing 2.

A piston indicated generally at 6 is slidably mounted` within thecylinder 5 and a thrust rod or piston rod 7 extends upwardly from thepiston through a conventional packing gland 8 at the upper end of thecylinder, being connected at its upper end to production tube pistonindicated generally at 10 which is slidably carried in the productiontube 15. Means are provided for supplying pressure fluid to and removingfluid from the interior of cylinder 5. In the present embodiment of theinvention such means include a pair of preferably rigid tubular members9 extending upwardly from the upper end of the cylinder and beingslidably received in longitudinally extending bores formed in the piston10. The left-hand tubular member 9 as seen in FIG. 2 at its lower end isin fluid communication with vertically extending channel 4 formed in theside wall of cylinder 5 and communicating at its lower end through theopening 35 in the side wall of the cylinder head 3 with the lower end ofthe interior of the cylinder. The right-hand tubular member 9 as seen inFIG. 2 is in communication at its lower end through a pasageway 16 withthe upper end of the interior of cylinder 5. The upper ends of tubularmembers 9 are received in a pair of laterally-spaced bores in a yokemember 11 and at their uppermost ends are connected through connectors12 to a pair of laterally-spaced flexible hoses 17. The yoke 11 isconnected to a support cable 13 which extends to the surface and 'servesto raise and lower the entire cylinder and pump assembly within theproduction tube 1S.

Means are provided in the production tube piston 10 for permitting onlyupward iluid ilow through said piston. As will be best seen by referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5, these means include a pair of balls 18 and 20 whichare freely vertically movable in a pair of laterally-spaced channels 23and 24 respectively which communicate at their upper ends throughopenings 19 and 21 respectively with a central bore 36 opening upwardlyinto the interior of production tube 15. The vertical channels 23 and 24are downwardly open and provided with seats against which the balls maybe in sealing engagement when in their lower positions as shown indotted outline in FIG. 4, thereby preventing fluid ilow downwardly ofthe piston 10.

In operation, hydraulic pressure lluid is forced downwardly through theleft-hand tube 9 as seen in FIGS. l and 2 by suitable surface pump meansnot shown and thence downwardly through the channel 4 formed in the sidewall of cylinder 5 and passageway 35 into the lower Patented Mar, 6,1962` portion of the interior of cylinder 5. The pressure of thehydraulic iluid in the right-hand tubular member 9 as seen in FIGS. land 2 is simultaneously relieved by suitable surface means not shownthrough the passageway 16 communicating with the upper end of theinteriorof theY the piston 10. At theV same time the lower check valve2.'A

is in open position, the ball 32 rising within the check valve housingaway from sealing engagement with its seat 30, permitting iluid withinthe casing 1 to be drawn upwardly through thev opening 27 and along theilutedv portions 14 of cylinder 5 to the space above the cylinder.`

. Under the control of suitable surface control means not shown, thedirection ofhydraulic uid ilow in the. tubular members 9 is reversedwhen the pistons have risen to their uppermost positions, thus forcingdownwardly piston 6 and its associated parts, including piston rodr 7and piston 10. During such downward movement,-

lower cheek valve 2 is in closed position, the ball 32 assuming theposition seen in FIG. 2a, thus trapping above it the oil or otherliquid, while the upper check valve' balls 18 and 20 are in openposition as seen in solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 4 to permit thedownwardvmovement of piston through the trapped oil.

, This cycle of reciprocating piston'movement is repeated at a suitablespeed and frequency for the requirements of a given installation.

Desirably, the tubular members 9 areof rigid construction, of metal orthe like, and they thus serve to support, from the cable 13, any desiredportion of the weight of the pump members just described.

While the pumping system shown and described hereinV is fully capable ofachieving the objects and providing the advantages herein before stated,they are capable of considerable modification within the spirittoftheinvention. Therefore I do not mean to be limited to the forms 4 shownand described herein but rather to the scope of the appended claims. l

I claim:

l. A well pump for operation within a production tube in a well, thetube havng acylindrical inner surface comprising: an elongated housinghaving formed therein an elongated cylindrical chamber provided with apiston slidablymounted therein and with ports for communieating pressureiluid to opposite ends of the chamber; a second piston disposed abovethe housing and in slidable contact with the 'production tube innersurface, said second piston being provided with a pair of longitudinalbores extending therethrough and with a passage extending therethrough;means rigidly connecting said pistons; check valve means carried by thesecond piston for permitting uid flow only upwardly through saidpassage; a pair of rigid pipes Xed' to the upper portion of said housingand projecting upwardly therefrom and extending slidably through saidbores, said pipes atvtheir lower ends being in fluid communication withsaid housing ports; means provided with a passagewayextending'therethrough for communieating'the interior of the productiontube beneath said second piston with the well to permit well fluid toflow into said interior including second check valve means preventingfluid ilow outwardly of the interior through said passageway; andsupport means connected to theup'per ends of'said pipes maintaining thepipes in parallel relation, the housing being of substantially smallercross-sectional area throughout itslength than the interiorcross-sectional area of the tube.

'2. The invention *as'stated in claim 1 wherein the exterior wall of thehousing is longitudinally iluted.

3. The invention as stated in claim 1 wherein said piston connectingmeans comprises an elongated piston rod extending between and fixed tosaid pistons.

4. The invention'as 'stated in claim l wherein said second check valvemeans is disposed `'beneath said housing.

References Cited inthe tile of Vthis patent UNITED A STATES PATENTS

